Category: pierre huyghe

Through sculptures, videos and organisms/live animals, Pierre Huyghe creates ‘situations’, narratives which are often incomplete, unresolved, ambiguous; often suggesting a line of reasoning for a meaning but being careful not to commit to any particular one. There seems to be a few recurring themes in his artworks; real interactions between live animals, hired performers and the audience. This is where unbeknownst to the viewer, that he/she also is in fact part of the exhibit, staged performances of events that have or have yet to take place and placing objects into another context, where the previous associated meanings are questioned.

The Thrid Memory (2000) is a video reconstruction of a bank robbery that took place in 1972, narrated by the perpetrator, John Wojtowicz, as he recalls from memory what took place, which as the audience soon finds out, is tainted by the fictional story of what happened in the 1975 movie Dog Days Afternoon. The line between fiction and reality is blurred by fading memories, and by the fact that prior to this robbery, Wojtowicz watched The Godfather for inspiration on what he could say during his heist.